Carlos Rodriguez has run his barbershop in the Pacific Mutual Building for 30 years. (Photo/Your Credit Here)
A walk through the elaborate neoclassical entrance of the Pacific Mutual -Building is like a trip through time. With its coffered ceilings and Old World balustrades, the white and green marbled lobby near Pershing Square boasts a number of historic elements. However its most impressive feature may be the tiny barbershop run by Carlos Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has been cutting men’s hair in Downtown for 50 years. He began his career at a time when the lobby barber was as much a part of the business world as a three-marti-ni lunch. His client list has included some of the city’s most prominent bankers, brokers and legal professionals.
“Fifty years ago, before shopping centers and malls, every little building in the city had a barber shop,” Rodriguez recalls. It was unheard of that a businessman didn’t get a shave, shampoo or massage. They were standards of the trade."
Now, Rodriguez chuckles, he may be among the last barbers in the area to brandish hot foam and an old-fashioned straight razor.
A close shave is but one of the traditional duties of barbers, who until the 1970s were the only professionals licensed by the state to cut men’s hair. According to Rodriguez, a tough period came upon the industry, making it more and more difficult to attract young men to barber schools. In an effort to address the dearth of new recruits and other concerns, the state eventually expanded the role of cosmetologists to include services to men.
Through the years, Rodriguez has witnessed more than profound changes to his profession. Along with the waxing and waning of different hairstyles, he has also watched with some amazement the ups, downs and resurgences of Downtown’s business centers.
I started in 1954, working at the Mayfair Hotel on Seventh and Witmer
Carlos Rodriguez
“I started in 1954, working at the Mayfair Hotel on Seventh and Witmer,” he says, noting that in those days the hotel stood at the hub of a vibrant financial district, which for him translated into a wealth of brokers and other business customers. “I was 18 years old then, and the Mayfair Hotel was one of the nicest hotels in L.A. The Dodgers were just coming into town then. A lot of them were staying at the hotel!”
During what he calls the “Spring Street Days,” Rodriguez also ran his own barbershop at Fourth and Spring streets, where he catered for a time to clients along that once-thriving financial corridor. Thirty years ago, he moved into the lobby of the Pacific Center.
Like the Old Days
Carlos Rodriguez has run his barbershop in the Pacific Mutual Building for 30 years. (Photo/Your Credit Here)
With Pacific Mutual in the building, Rodriguez served the varying needs of insurance brokers, and later bankers, but “with the problem of the banks a couple of years ago” his customer pool now comprises mostly attorneys and judges. Still, he runs his shop much the way he has for the last 30 years.
“I’ve always been what they call a business shop. I open early and close early, Monday
through Friday.” He explains that his 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. schedule was originally designed to accommodate financiers who started their days early to communicate with the East Coast.
Another constant is Rodriguez himself, who in a half century of barbering has taken just one weeklong vacation. He said that if he weren’t cutting hair, the alternative would be passing time at home.
Although Rodriguez’ hours and dedication to his trade have not changed, he has observed firsthand his Downtown clients’ varying needs, styles and customs. During what he calls the “long hair phase, Rodriguez watched his profession languish.
He even wrote a letter to the Los Angeles Times explaining why so many barbers were leaving the trade. “[Barbers] didn’t expect to ever make big times but you could make a decent living,” he asserted.
“[L]et’s just hope short hair returns and puts an end to this depression.”
[Barbers] didn't expect to ever make big times but you could make a decent living
Carlos Rodriguez
A copy of the printed letter still hangs in his shop.
“Now we’re back to the short-hair phase — I’ve never used so much machine in my life,” he smiles, referring to his trusty electric razor. Nonetheless, weekly visits to the barber, a staple of businessmen in the 1950s and ’60s, are rare today. Manicures have fallen from favor while even clean-cut regulars return only once or twice a month to maintain their cuts.
In addition, mall salons offer greater convenience for many suburban commuters while gyms and health clubs have replaced the social atmosphere the barbershop once offered men.
Rodriguez accepts these changes with a shrug. For him, cutting hair is as much a labor of love as it is a trade — one he stumbled on entirely by accident.
Born and raised in the Boyle Heights area, Rodriguez enrolled in college, intent on an associate of arts degree. His parents, however, owned a restaurant at Third and Main streets — right next to a barber’s col-lege. During his summer break, Rodriguez decided to enroll at the school to pass time.
Almost immediately, he knew he had discovered his true profession.
Now, half a century later, having cut the hair of so many of Los Angeles business elite, one expects Rodriguez could share many interesting stories about customers. When asked, however, he smiles, nods, and then adroitly changes the subject.
After all, a good barber is a gentleman who always keeps his confidences.
Carlos Rodriguez, Pacific Center Barbers, 523 W. Sixth St., Suite GR522. Open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., by appointment only. Call (213) 629-1072.
